Hopkins wrestling took second Saturday, Feb. 23 with a total of 98 points at the 2013 Centennial Conference Championships. Ursinus College left Hopkins’s Goldfarb Gymnasium with the conference title for the tenth time in school history at 113 points, and McDaniel College claimed a third place finish with 48 points.
Senior Paul Marcello led the team to their second place finish, and did so while becoming the first Hopkins wrestler to win four consecutive Centennial Conference title in the 141 lb. weight class.
Marcello, seeded first, pinned his first two opponents in 4:39 and 2:10, respectively, and was also victorious in his third and final match, winning 10-3 against second seed Elisha Gaylor, Ursinus.
Along with his title, Marcello earned the Chris Clifford Award. The honor is given to seniors who have earned the most team points for their respective team in the Centennial Conference at the conclusion of their collegiate career. Marcello also made All-Conference first team.
“This win was awesome because it was at home in front of friends and family.” Marcello said. “I got to put on a show in my home gym that was a culmination of 8 years of training.”
On his team’s cumulative performance, Marcello had only praise and high hopes. “Taking first would have been better, but taking second still speaks to the hard work put forth by the entire team” Marcello said.
“We are the only team in the conference consistently in the top two and we’ve got a great group of guys who can continue to keep us up at the top.”
Marcello was not the only Hopkins athlete to win a personal title. Sophomore Paul Bewak also managed to snag a gold. Bewak, the second ranked wrestler in the nation, took home a title in the 125 lb. weight class. In addition, Bewak was honored the Centennial Conference Wrestler of the Year title in addition to first team honors. This is the athlete’s second title, testament to the fact that he has yet to lose a D III match this season.
Joining Bewak and Marcello on the All-Conference first team, freshman Christian Ostrowski proved his first team selection by taking home the conference title in the 165 lb. weight class. Ostrowski was the only freshman in the conference to win a personal title.
Other Hopkins athletes that places at the tournament were junior Duncan Crystal (149 lb.), sophomore Christian Salera (157 lb.) and freshman Kyle Spangler (184 lb.), all of whom placed second in their respective heats. Spangler, Salera and Crystal were awarded honorable mention for their efforts. Junior Ray Yagloski (133 lb.) finished third in his bracket.
Ultimately, Ursinus scored 113 points to Hopkins’ 98, claiming their tenth consecutive conference title.
Head Coach Keith Norris was proud of the Hopkins team and has high hopes for next year.
“I’m really proud of how our team wrestled this weekend,” Norris said. “All ten wrestled with a lot of heart.”
Hopkins will compete at the NCAA Regional Championship tournament on Saturday, March 2 at Gettysburg College. The top three of each weight class will move on to wrestle at the NCAA Championships.
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